--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Its All About Choice - The way we see…" description: "\"“Its All About Choice - The way we see things is affected by what we know or what we believe. In the Middle Ages when men believed in the physical exis..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fca/john-berger-1590_close-your-eyes_its-all-about-choice-the-way-we-see-thin_1944747.png" --- # Its All About Choice - The way we see things is affected… ![“Its All About Choice - The way we see things is affected by what we know or what we believe. In the Middle Ages when men believed in the physical existence of Hell the sight of fire must have meant something different from what it means today. Nevertheless their idea of Hell owed a lot to the…” quote by John Berger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fca/john-berger-1590_close-your-eyes_its-all-about-choice-the-way-we-see-thin_1944747.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fca/john-berger-1590_close-your-eyes_its-all-about-choice-the-way-we-see-thin_1944747.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fca/john-berger-1590_close-your-eyes_its-all-about-choice-the-way-we-see-thin_1944747.png) > ““Its All About Choice - The way we see things is affected by what we know or what we believe. In the Middle Ages when men believed in the physical existence of Hell the sight of fire must have meant something different from what it means today. Nevertheless their idea of Hell owed a lot to the sight of fire consuming and the ashes remaining - as well as to their experience of the pain of burns. When in love, the sight of the beloved has a completeness which no words and no embrace can match : a completeness which only the act of making love can temporarily accommodate. Yet this seeing which comes before words, and can never be quite covered by them, is not a question of mechanically reacting to stimuli. (It can only be thought of in this way if one isolates the small part of the process which concerns the eye's retina.) We only see what we look at. To look is an act of choice. As a result of this act, what we see is brought within our reach - though not necessarily within arm's reach. To touch something is to situate oneself in relation to it. (Close your eyes, move round the room and notice how the faculty of touch is like a static, limited form of sight.) We never look at just one thing; we are always looking at the relation between things and ourselves. Our vision is continually active, continually moving, continually holding things in a circle around itself, constituting what is present to us as we are.”” [John Berger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-berger/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Perception is shaped by knowledge, belief, and choice; seeing is an active, relational act beyond mere stimulus. **In simple terms:** Seeing is a choice shaped by belief. Key Takeaway Question your assumptions before interpreting. Themes perception choice relational philosophy Mood thoughtful analytical Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - art critique - personal relationships - media analysis - education - design Key Concepts Phenomenology cognitive bias Questions to Reflect On - What beliefs influence how you see the world? - How can you broaden your perceptual horizons? 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Then I took a second look!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hussein-nishah/it-was-love-at-first-sight-then-i-took-a-second-look/) [Hussein Nishah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hussein-nishah/) > [Sometime when u meet somone u just click i don't believe in love at first sight, but I sure believe in the click](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiz/sometime-when-u-meet-somone-u-just-click-i-don-t-believe-in-love-at/) [Kiz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiz/) > [I don't BeliEvE in lOvE at FirST SiGht ? because I BelIeVe in LoVe at EverY sIGHt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-don-t-believe-in-love-at-first-sight-because-i-believe-in-love-at/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I never believed that they was such thing as love at first sight but I think I'm having that feeliing @sarahlovemoody](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mishack/i-never-believed-that-they-was-such-thing-as-love-at-first-sight-but/) [Mishack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mishack/) ## More by John Berger > [When we read a story, we inhabit it. 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We actually perceive it in a different way.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-berger/today-we-see-the-art-of-the-past-as-nobody-saw-it-before-we-actually/) [John Berger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-berger/) [Explore all 214 John Berger quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-berger/) ## More Close your eyes quotes > [How could anybody confuse truth with beauty, I thought as I looked at him. Truth came with sunken eyes, bony or scarred, decayed. 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Close your eyes and say to yourself: “I wonder what my next thought is going to be.” Then become very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/try-a-little-experiment-close-your-eyes-and-say-to-yourself-i-wonder/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [The sea answers all questions, and always in the same way; for when you read in the papers the interminable discussions and the bickering…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-b-white/the-sea-answers-all-questions-and-always-in-the-same-way-for-when-you/) [E. B. White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-b-white/) [Browse all 728 Close your eyes quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/close-your-eyes/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Its All About Choice - The way we see things is affected by what we know or what we believe. 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